City's first female leader had long career of political service

Black and purple bunting marks Pittsburgh's mourning outside and inside the City-County Building. In the lobby, people were signing books of remembrance Monday, with the portrait of late Mayor Sophie Masloff nearby. The scene was very moving to those who knew her.

Hours after a middle-of-the-night phone call that Richard Caliguiri had died, City Council President Sophie Masloff took the oath that made her Pittsburgh's first female mayor. She plunged into her new duties, and her performance pleased voters enough that they elected her to a full term in office.

In this story from August 2008, former Pittsburgh mayor Sophie Masloff talks about why she decided not to attend the Democratic National Convention for the first time in more than 40 years. It was a historic event, as Barack Obama accepted the party's nomination for president.

"And I think the family is also just overwhelmed by the outpouring of grief and the outpouring, wonderful things that are being said about her," said attorney Frederick Frank, a longtime friend and adviser to Masloff. "As I walked in, I saw innumerable people writing in the book, and I know that would be very meaningful to Sophie's family."

"She lived a full life. She embodied Pittsburgh. She grew up poor in the Hill District and she fought hard," said Kevin Acklin, who is Mayor Bill Peduto's chief of staff and among those to sign the books.

Outside City Council chambers, there are curio cases filled with images and memories of Masloff, who died Sunday morning at the Center for Compassionate Care in Mt. Lebanon at the age of 96.

"She was always interested in the human element. Every time we had any kind of a problem, she'd always, when somebody came up, 'How many people will get hurt by this? Will it hurt the community?'" recalled Terry Woodcock, a former Masloff aide.

"You had a real seat at the table. That lady listened to you. She was concerned about your issues and the safety of firefighters," said recently retired city firefighters union president Joe King.

Masloff was the child of Jewish immigrants who rose to become Pittsburgh's first woman mayor.

"She was very down to earth. She came from humble beginnings and I think she never forgot that," said Frank Jones, Masloff's onetime campaign treasurer.

"That was of course how she was, that she never differentiated between people and their rank," said Frank.

At the books of remembrance, average Pittsburghers joined the politically powerful in remembering Masloff.

"She always liked to get the people going, make people happy, a lot. She was a good woman," said Jeff Kneip, of Bloomfield.

"Sophie was a good mayor, a great mayor. With her trying to get the stadiums, they should have did it sooner. A woman's always right," said Jeannie Horgan, of Greenfield.

"She was right. She was right on a lot of things. People just didn't recognize how intelligent (she was) and the research that that lady did to benefit the city of Pittsburgh,' said King.

Masloff helped pick the memorabilia now on showcase at City Council.

"I'm sorry that we need to use it at this time. I really wish she had lived to be 100. She was a great lady and an icon in the city," said Pittsburgh City Clerk Mary Beth Doheny.

As for Tuesday's funeral service, "We're doing this as a celebration of her life. Mayor Masloff would not want us to be in mourning tomorrow," said Frank.

"She was always just a very nice, decent lady, and always treated everybody with respect," Woodcock, said.

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STATEMENTS ABOUT SOPHIE MASLOFF

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett called Masloff the daughter of the city.

"Sophie Masloff was the quintessential daughter of Pittsburgh: an outspoken, direct and honest character who embraced her work with a sense of service and a spark of joy. This daughter of immigrants helped to shape the city’s culture and persona, with a voice and flair that were unmistakably Sophie and essentially Pittsburgh.

"For a turbulent decade of economic and social change, she was exactly the right leader for the time, offering a steady hand and a forward-looking vision.

“It was Sophie who first envisioned what became PNC Park, and it was Sophie who also led the way in promoting equality of opportunity, both by word and by her own example as both the city’s first female and first Jewish chief executive.

“Susan and I mourn her passing and join all of Pennsylvania in offering thanks for the life and leadership of Sophie Masloff,” the statement said.

Bill Peduto, the city's 60th and current mayor, called Masloff a trailblazer.

"Sophie Masloff personified Pittsburgh. She was kind and approachable, but you dared not underestimate her. Like so many of those who built our city, she was self-made, the daughter of immigrants, and civic-minded. She committed herself to public life for decades, rising from a teenage political leader to the top of Pittsburgh government as the city’s first female mayor.

"There are thousands like me who were lucky enough to know Sophie as a friend. Whenever we met for coffee, I would always think how amazing it was to get advice from her, just as David Lawrence did years before.

"I know I speak for the whole city when I say Sophie -- a trailblazer camouflaged in grace and humor -- will never be forgotten,” the statement said.

A statement was also released by Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald.

"I am saddened by the news of the passing of Sophie Masloff. She served this community for many years and in many ways. Her passion and love for Pittsburgh was exemplified in all she did," Fitzgerald said. "Coming out of the Great Depression, Sophie saw numerous changes in Pittsburgh. She was a part of many of these changes and was the leader that this community needed. As the first woman mayor of the city of Pittsburgh, she was an inspiration to all her in generation and for years to come. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family and friends."

ROBBED IN THE NORTHEAST. CLOSED CAPTIONING FUNDED BY WTAE DISCHARGE THE DUTIES OF YOUR OFFICE OF MAYOR TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY. I DO AND I DO. Reporter: SHE WAS 70 YEARS OLD SOME MIGHT HAVE CONSIDERED SOPHIE MASLOFF AN UNLIKELY REPLACEMENT FOR THE POPULAR CALIGUIRI, THE TERMINALLY ILL MAYOR SUPPORTED MASLOFF FOR COUNCIL PRESIDENT. THE MAYOR HAD A BIG CONTROL OVER THE COUNCIL AND ASKED THEM IF THEY'D VOTE FOR ME AND THEY DID ASK THAT'S HOW HIGH BECAME MAYOR. Reporter: MASLOFF SERVED IN PITTSBURGH CITY COUNCIL SINCE 1976 BUT FORMER COLLEAGUES WERE LESS THAN WELCOMING NOW. I FELT I HAD A HOSTILE COUNCIL. I WAS EXTREMELY SELF-CONSCIOUS THE FIRST FEW MEETINGS. Reporter: PEOPLE LOVED HER AND RAN FOR A FULL TERM AS MAYOR. LET ME SAY IT IS A GREAT PERSONAL HONOR TO BE THE MAYOR OF THIS CITY. AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR YOUR SUPPORT. Reporter: HEADY TOUGH FOR THE WOMAN BORN IN THE HILL DISTRICT TO ROMANIAN JEWISH IMMIGRANTS SOME SAW HER AS QUIRKY, YET DEAN URING. SHE WAS POLITICALLY SAVVY, LOWERS THE CITY'S WAGE TAX, PUSHED NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THE HILLS CRAWFORD SQUARE AND PITTSBURGH TECHNOLOGY CENTER. I LOWERED THE WAGE TAX FROM 4 MILS TO 3.5. I BELIEVED THE WAGE TAX, MAY INFLUENCE YOUNG PEOPLE FROM MOVING INTO PITTSBURGH. Reporter: MOST OF ALL SHE WAS A VISIONARY. OLD-FASHIONED, NATURAL GRASS, OPEN-ENDED BASEBALL PARK TO BE BUILT CLOSE BY THREE RIVERS STADIUM. Reporter: CLEMENTE FIELD PROPOSAL CAME A DECADE BEFORE PNC PARK. BUT HER HUSBAND OF 52 YEARS, JACK, DIED WHILE SHE WAS IN OFFICE. MASLOFF DECIDED NOT TO RUN FOR A SECOND TERM BUT REMAINED A FORCE IN STATE AND NATIONAL POLITICS ATTENDING EVERY DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION FROM 1960 TO 2004. BUT AT 93, MASLOFF WAS URGED BY DOCTORS NOT TO ATTEND WHAT WOULD BE BARACK OBAMA'S NOMINATION. NO GREAT MAYOR, SHE AIN'T WHAT SHE USED TO BE BUT I'M GOING AND I'M GOING TO DIE WITH MY BOOTS ON. THREE, TWO, ONE! Reporter: PERHAPS HER FAVORITE TRIBUTE CAME SIX MONTHS BEFORE, ON HER 90th BIRTHDAY, UNVEILING OF SOPHIE MASLOFF WAY IN THE SHADOW OF THE BASEBALL PARK SHE HAD DREAMED OF 0. I APPRECIATE THIS THOUGH I DON'T DESERVE IT. I DID WHAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO. Reporter: ALWAYS RIGHT UP